Penguins Feel Optimistic Guentzel Won't Be Sidelined Long

While Jake Guentzel will miss the start of the 2023-24 season after undergoing ankle surgery on Aug. 2, the Penguins are hopeful he won't be sidelined for long - and back at his best when he returns.

"We'll miss him for the first couple games of the year, but then he'll be back to the Jake we know, which I think is the best solution for all of us," President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas said.

Dubas said the ankle injury is something Guentzel was dealing with at the end of last year. Going into the offseason, the plan was to continue to monitor it. But when the ankle injury wasn't healing in a way that was satisfactory to Guentzel or the Penguins, head team physician Dr. Dharmesh Vyas and head athletic trainer Chris Stewart - in collaboration with Jake and the people on the ground in his home state of Minnesota - came up with a very specific methodology to go through it.

That included testing it through game action in Da Beauty League, which Guentzel has participated in for years, but it just wasn't comfortable enough for him as he was getting up to the prescribed levels.

"So, at that point, it was decided that we would have the surgical solution performed, and that will get Jake back up to 100%," Dubas said. "It's in Jake's best interest, and it's best for the team to have Jake at 100%."

Guentzel is set to be re-evaluated in 12 weeks, which will be the week of Oct. 23. Prior to that, Pittsburgh's schedule - which opens on Oct. 10 versus Chicago - is light, with three games the first week and two games the second week. So, if all goes well, Guentzel could end up sitting out just five games.

"Around five games is kind of the projected number, but it's medical, so you never want to put a lock on that because we always have got to do what is right for him," Dubas said. "We're hopeful it goes well, of course, but we want to make sure he is 100% ready to roll when he comes back."

For now, the Penguins aren't planning to place Guentzel on long-term injured reserve, since he would have to miss a minimum of 10 games AND 24 days, and they don't foresee him being sidelined for that long. But the six-time 20-goal scorer will be absent for some period of time, and that leaves a big hole in Pittsburgh's top-six alongside Sidney Crosby.

"I don't think that there are many ready-made replacements for Jake," Dubas said. "He is one of the better wingers in the NHL and certainly has great chemistry with Sid. They have had great success together. With that said, one of the fortunate parts is it creates a major opportunity for our own young people that are here, but also more importantly, it was one of the things we tried to address in free agency."

Of course, the Penguins acquired Reilly Smith from the Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights to play in the top-six with Jason Zucker's departure. And while the initial plan was to try him with Evgeni Malkin, Dubas said he thinks the five-time 20-goal scorer can play with Crosby. Rickard Rakell, who ended the season alongside Geno, has already proven to have great chemistry with the captain.

"We know we have our own guys that can slide in there… but there's all those other people that we brought in to try to improve our depth, certainly on the wings in free agency, and now is the opportunity for those who've waited all this time," Dubas said.

He rattled off a list of candidates:

As for the young people Dubas alluded to, he specifically mentioned:

The storyline of who will step up into that role is something Dubas is looking forward to this training camp.

"You've got six weeks to put yourself in the best spot to take advantage of it, and I'm just excited to see who comes in and takes it," Dubas said.